How can the quality of social-educational fan engagement be assessed transparently and according to uniform criteria without neglecting the varying conditions at individual locations? CEval has been pursuing this question since 2015 in collaboration with the Coordination Office for Fan Projects (German: Koordinationsstelle Fanprojekte, KOS).
Over the course of three consecutive project phases, the process for awarding the quality seal “Fan Project in Accordance with the National Concept for Sport and Safety” has been further developed, tested, and implemented nationwide. The recently published final report for the years 2022 through 2025 documents the results and lessons learned from the most recent round.
Ensuring the Quality of Social-Educational Fan Work
There are currently 70 fan projects active nationwide. Their socio-educational experts accompany teenagers and young adults to home and visiting games, offer counseling and educational programs, and support young fans in shaping their fan culture in a positive and self-determined way. Their work focuses on violence prevention, democratic values, and personal responsibility, to name a few.
Fan project work is part of the public child and youth welfare system under SGB VIII and is guided by the National Concept for Sports and Safety (Nationales Konzept Sport und Sicherheit). Fan projects are jointly funded by the public sector and organized soccer. The federal states and municipalities each contribute a portion of the funding; the DFB and DFL generally supplement these funds with an equivalent amount. Additional project funds and third-party funding can also be obtained.
The quality seal was introduced in 2010 based on the National Concept for Sports and Safety and is awarded for a period of three years. It aims to establish common standards and provide greater certainty in decision-making, as well as to improve the structural framework for fan project work. The quality seal program is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women, and Youth, the DFB, and the DFL.
From Development to Nationwide Implementation
In the first phase of the project, CEval revised and standardized the existing certification process. The new concept was then pilot-tested in collaboration with five selected fan projects. The goal was to establish a uniform yet practical process for collecting the information required for certification.
This was followed by two additional project phases, from 2017 to 2020 and from 2022 to 2025, during which the revised procedure was implemented nationwide. CEval conducted the data collection among the fan projects and prepared the information for the subsequent certification process. This included preparing and conducting quality assessments on-site or digitally, as well as the subsequent validation of the collected data. In addition, the perspectives of the organizing bodies and key network partners from municipalities, soccer clubs, fan communities, and the police were taken into account. CEval also provided advisory support to the Quality Assurance Working Group in interpreting the results.
High Standards and Growing Challenges
The findings of the latest final report paint an overall positive picture: Nearly all (97%) of the fan projects examined met all mandatory criteria and were certified. The facilities and technical equipment were generally rated as satisfactory to very good. The participation of external stakeholders in the process has also increased in several areas compared to the previous round.
At the same time, the report highlights a number of challenges. Although the number of full-time staff members has risen slightly, less than half of the fan projects and their sponsoring organizations consider their staffing resources to be sufficient. Financial resources are also often limited: The proportion of fan projects in which at least four-fifths of the budget is allocated to personnel costs rose from 7 percent in 2019 to 38 percent today.
Quality Assurance as a Continuous Process
The three project phases demonstrate how quality assurance procedures can be developed and established over an extended period of time. The regular assessment is not intended solely to award a seal of approval. It highlights areas for improvement, identifies needs for support, and creates a common foundation for the further development of fan project work.
The publication of the final report now makes the overarching findings from the most recent cycle available to the public. We are pleased to have supported KOS in this effort since 2015 and to be able to contribute our methodological expertise to the ongoing development of the quality seal.
For more information, see the KOS press release and its website.
